Vion is transforming a plant to produce plant-based proteins
Vion is planning to open a dedicated plant-based production unit in Leeuwarden as part of the company’s strategy of building food chains based on the market demand. Earlier this year, Vion CEO Ronald Lotgerink announced that the company intends to diversify its range of products.
“The capacity for livestock processing in the Netherlands has grown significantly in the past two years and has proven to be more than sufficient to meet the demand. Given the knowledge we gained from our investment a few years ago, we are now making the strategic choice to invest in a dedicated plant-based site in Leeuwarden. We look forward to continue our relationships with our livestock suppliers at other Vion sites and welcome arable farmers as new suppliers in our plant-based chain,” stated Mr. Lotgerink.
The market for meat alternatives has been growing over the past few years and it is expected to continue to grow. Next to Vion’s home markets in the Netherlands and Germany, other parts of Europe like the UK, Italy and France are also growing markets for meat alternatives. This is mainly the result of eating habits of so-called flexitarians, who regularly buy these products.
The Vion site in Leeuwarden was built in 2017 and is currently operating as a beef facility. It was built according to the latest standards, which means it can be easily adjusted to become suitable for plant-based production. The site can be scaled up to add more production lines, freezing facilities and larger storage capacity. The current employees will not be affected by the change, announced the company in a press release.
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